It is common in the restaurant, tableware rental, food catering, and moving industries for large numbers of cups or glasses to be racked, washed and stacked for economy of storage space and handling efficiency. Considerable difficulty can be encountered in handling racks of relatively fragile cups or glasses inasmuch as such racks are often cumbersome to handle, hence if the racks are shaken or improperly stored, breakage of the cups or glasses can and often does occur. Additionally, after the tableware has been washed, further handling thereof is unsanitary. Thus it is desirable that glasses or cups be subjected to a minimum of handling, so that, once placed in a rack, they remain there until used again, and that the racks themselves be subjected to as little handling as possible.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,367,529 of Welch et al there is shown an arrangement that exemplifies the prior art. That patent discloses a bus box for carrying a dishwasher rack containing a set of glasses. It is necessary to remove the rack from the box for washing the glasses, and also to remove the rack from the box for stacking, if indeed the racks are stackable. Otherwise the glasses must be removed from the rack for storing, which is unsanitary and often leads to breakage. It can be appreciated that the Welch et al arrangement does little to minimize handling of the glasses and of the rack.
There are other types of racks shown in the prior art, some for use as dishwasher racks, and some for use as storage racks, but not both. Further, as in Welch et al, most such racks require some means, such as a carrying box, for transport.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need exists for a rack into which soiled cups, glasses and the like may be placed, washed, and stored without removal from the rack until usage, thereby minimizing breakage and unsanitary handling. It is to the provision of such a rack that the present invention is primarily directed.